Over the years, despite growing into a very competent home cook, the one cuisine family that has always flummoxed me is the Pan Asian cuisine, and especially Thai. All of our peers seemed to rave about it and there are many thai restaurants in our area to meet the demands of mid life professionals reliving their gap year glory days. Having never been on a gap year, I always put that down as the reason I just 'didn't get Thai', and I have always loved the butter, cream and dairy laden European diet. I also blame the horror of nasty Anglicised green curry for my rejection of this beautiful cuisine too.
However, as I near my forties, my body and digestion is changing dramatically, and I've found myself drawn increasingly to lighter, more refreshing food packed with flavour, and so... my recent experimentation with Thai and Chinese food has really taken off, and that's been helped by our local restaurant Thai Charms doing a lunch time special £8.95 menu, allowing me to discover authentic thai dishes that are simply out of this world.
Last night I made a vegetarian version of the classic Tom Yum Soup and it was deliciously warming, perfect for the freezing temperatures. It was the first time that I had ever had tofu, too. The tetra packed silken tofu for reference and it was lovely. I definitely urge you to try this type if you've been put off by the other drier tofu.
LEVEL: EASY
BUDGET: LOW (approx £1.25 a serving)
FEEDS 2-3 comfortably as a main dish
TIME: FAST
VEGETARIAN
Budget Notes: Having a general stock of thai ingredients regularly in the fridge reduces the cost of cooking thai as a little goes a long way and will make several dishes across the week. I always have a fresh ginger root, couple of red chilis and a bunch of lemon grass in the fridge and soy and fish sauce in the cupboard; so initially the cost may be a little bit of an outlay, but it stretches very economically.
INGREDIENTS
1 lemon grass stalk
2 cloves of garlic
1tsp of sea salt
1/2 red chili or dried chili flakes to personal level
2 x good stock gels (veggie or chicken)
6-7 Shitake mushrooms
2tbsp soy sauce
Splash of fish sauce (optional)
Pak choi or dark green cabbage
Corriander
Basil
1 bundle of dried egg noodles.
1/2 pack of tetra packed silken tofu (optional)
METHOD
1) In a large casserole pan / soup pan make the stock up into 1 1/2 pints of stock. Mince the lemon grass and garlic and ginger together in a pestle and mortar with salt to help break it down. Add to the stock mix and heat until well infused.
2) Add the 2thsp of soy sauce, splash of optional fish sauce, and a tbsp of brown sugar.
3) Add the noodles and cook for approx 5 until softened.
4) Add the chopped shitake mushrooms greens, basil and coriander and heat until greens are vivid.
5) Cube the tofu and place in the bottom of the bowl. Heap the noodles and solids on top to help heat it through and then pour over the broth.
TIP: Add more or less stock depending on your tastes, and adjust salt accordingly.
